Preacher with links to Fort Hood gunman gave lecture at Wembley

Anwar al-Awlaki, the radical preacher said to have inspired the Fort Hood
gunman Major Nidal Malik Hasan, has strong support in Britain, according to
reports.

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the U.S. Army doctor named as a suspect in the shooting death of 13 people and the wounding of 31 others at Fort Hood, Texas Photo: GETTY

By Matthew Moore

7:01AM GMT 12 Nov 2009

The US-born cleric, who is also thought to have been the "spiritual adviser" to two of the September 11 hijackers, is a regular speaker at Islamic events in the UK and has been praised by mainstream Muslims.

Last night former supporters sought to distance themselves from al-Awlaki as intelligence agencies investigate emails he exchanged with Hasan, who faces the death penalty for killing 13 people at the Texas military base.

Azad Ali, the president of the Civil Service Islamic Society who had previously described the preacher as "one of my favourite speakers and scholars" told The Times that he deplored his words in support of the attack

"I reject them and dissociate myself from them completely," he said.

Osama Saeed, a former SNP parliamentary candidate who had also praised al-Awlaki's views, said he felt "cheated" by his backing for Hasan.